CLEVELAND BROWNS

CLEVELAND BROWNS

OL coach Bob Wylie injured in practice

BEREA

Beloved Browns offensive line coach Bob Wylie broke his ankle during practice Thursday and underwent surgery.

A team spokesman said Wylie got hurt during Thursday’s workout as the Browns prepared to face the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

There were no immediate details on how the popular Wylie, who is in his second season with Cleveland, was injured.

Wylie is resting at University Hospitals and will likely miss the home finale.

Wylie was relatively unknown before his appearances on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series this summer made the big-bellied coach a favorite with Browns fans, who loved how he mocked players needing to stretch and how his stomach bounced when he yelled, “set, hut” during drills.

This week, the Browns released a video with Cleveland’s offensive lineman prancing like reindeer pushed Wylie on a blocking sled while dressed as Santa Claus .

LOS ANGELES RAMS

RB Gurley expects to play vs. Cardinals

THOSUAND OAKS, CALIF.

Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley expects to play against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday in spite of a knee injury.

If the game was earlier, however, Gurley wasn’t quite as certain about his status.

“I haven’t tried to run so, yeah, that’s a tough question,” Gurley said Thursday night.

Gurley did not practice Thursday as he deals with inflammation in his knee that flared up in the 30-23 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday night. Gurley, who leads the NFL with 21 combined rushing and receiving touchdowns, does not expect to practice before the Rams travel to Arizona.

However, Gurley was adamant he would play provided he gets medical clearance to do so.

“We got a game to win, and I’m pretty sure me being out there, if I can be out there, I would put this team in a good position to help them win,” Gurley said. “So why wouldn’t I be out there, you know, if I can play? That’s what we are trying to do. We’re trying to win.”

CAROLINA PANTHERS

Random drug tests annoy Reid’s mates

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

While Eric Reid is “not surprised” he’s been drug tested by the NFL six times in the past 11 weeks, his Panthers teammates and coaches are growing increasingly annoyed at the frequency of the league’s “random” drug testing policy.

Coach Ron Rivera quipped Thursday at his news conference that “if my name came up that many times I would buy a lottery ticket.”

Carolina wide receiver Torrey Smith added, “it’s very excessive.”

“I don’t think there’s any secret about it that something is wrong with that,” said Smith, who noted that he has been tested “two or three times” this season in 15 weeks.

Several veteran players say that is about the average for an entire season; Reid said that was his average before returning to the NFL.

Reid said he has taken seven drug tests in all (one was mandatory) since signing with Carolina on Sept. 27, fined three times for illegal hits totaling nearly $50,000 and ejected once.

The sixth-year safety believes it all stems from his pending collusion case against the NFL that alleges owners conspired to keep him out of the league for kneeling alongside former San Francisco 49ers teammate Colin Kaepernick during the national anthem to protest social and racial injustice.

“I’ve been a part of depositions,” Reid said. “I have been a part of this legal process and I’m not surprised in the slightest.”

Associated Press